The Parable of the Good Palestinian

The Parable of the Good Palestinian

II Opinions 10:25–37

²⁵ And behold, a lawyer stood up to put him to the test, saying, “Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?” ²⁶ He said to him, “What is written in the Law? How do you read it?” ²⁷ And he answered, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself.” ²⁸ And he said to him, “You have answered correctly; do this, and you will live.”
 
29 But he, desiring to justify himself, said to Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?” 30 Jesus replied, “A man was going down from the West Bank to Gaza, and he fell among robbers, who were stripping him and beating him. 31 Now by chance a priest was going down that road, and when he saw the attack he kept walking. 32 So likewise a pacifist, when he came to the place and saw the man being beaten, yelled at the men to stop. But lo they laughed. He then went to stand in the way of the attackers, but several burly onlookers stood in his way and he would not violently resist them. The robbers continued to beat the man, and the pacifist was saddened by the evil in the world. 33 But a Palestinian, as he journeyed, came to the incident, and when he saw the beating, he had compassion. 34 He yelled at the robbers to stop, but they would not. He thought about getting in the way of the blows, but knew that after the robbers had killed or knocked him out, they would go back to beating the man. 35 So the Palestinian, employing his skills in Krav Maga, pummeled the robbers and caused them physical harm. Afterword, the Palestinian put the beaten man into his car and drove him to the nearest hospital and payed for his medical bills. 36 Which of these three, do you think, proved to be a neighbor to the man who fell among the robbers?” 37 The lawyer said, “The one who violently resisted the robbers and pummeled them.” And Jesus said to him, “Obviously correct. You go and do likewise.”